Audi Ordered to Recall Nearly 130,000 Diesel Vehicles

Emissions Concerns From German Regulators Included in Earlier Recall, Company Says

A German regulatory agency has ordered Audi to recall 127,000 diesel vehicles, Reuters reports, over concerns about emissions.

Audi says those vehicles identified by German national regulator KBA were included in an earlier voluntary recall of about 850,000 TDI-powered Audis using V-6 and V-8 engines. The recall, which didn’t include U.S.- or Canadian-market diesel engines, concerns itself with those vehicles’ engine management software. According to a statement from the company in July, the recall would include a software retrofit to improve emissions in real-world driving beyond current regulations.

According to Reuters, Audi recalled a further 5,000 diesel-powered vehicles in Europe. The software fix in that recall would curb excessive nitrogen emissions from affected vehicles, a move that echoes parent company Volkswagen’s actions on U.S.-market TDI diesels.

Although related to Volkswagen, Audi has never been officially linked to the defeat devices found on some TDI diesels (including VW-designed engines found in Audi cars). Those devices, discovered in 2015, have tarnished Volkswagen’s reputation to build low-emissions diesels, forcing the company to withdraw from the U.S. light-duty diesel market. Audi followed suit soon after, and currently, the company doesn’t offer any oil-burning engines in the luxury market.

Whether KBA’s requested recall expands on Audi’s previous fixes remains to be seen; the company has not commented further on the regulatory body’s requests, according to Reuters.